The Boy Who Cried Sasuke!
by LeisaTheGreat
Summary: Naruto decides to teach Sasuke a lesson. But it backfires and, when he gets into trouble, there is no one to help him. Can he really rely on his team after the cruel prank he played on them? Reviews are loved :D Rated T for blood and injuries.
1. You Would Care!

_**The Boy Who Cried Kyuubi**_

_**A/N: Phew...this one just kind of *popped* at me LOL! I honestly don't even remember what happened to make me come up with this. Also, I'm not really sure how good this first chapter is. I wrote it over a course of several days so if it sounds a little choppy, I apologize in advance. 3 It's basically just a set-up chapter, getting you ready for the rest of the story soo...yep! I hope you like it :D**_

**-Chapter One-**

_(Timeline: Pre-Chuunin exams)_

"Naruto!" Sakura and Sasuke shout as their teammate flies through the air, only to smash into the side of a tree and tumble to the ground. He lands with a heavy thud. A thin trail of blood leaking down the corner of his mouth.

"You'll pay for that...!" Sasuke snarls. The raven lunges toward his enemy, a rouge ninja who had managed to sneak up behind them and attack Naruto. He spins, driving a well-placed kick into the rouge's gut, causing him to double over in pain. "Ha!" Sasuke slips below him and uppercuts the man's jaw, knocking him to the ground. The young Uchiha nudges his opponent to make sure he is uncoscious, and surely enough, he is out like a light.

"Ughh..." Naruto pulls himself off the ground, lifting his eyes just enough to see the crumpled form of his attacker on the ground, below Sasuke. He blushes like mad. _Great...now I have to deal with his ego for the rest of the day._

As if on que, the dark-haired boy turns to Naruto, who was still trying to pull himself together. A little, humorful smirk creeps over Sasuke's pale lips at the sight of his rival's shaken expression. "Hey," He calls. "You're not hurt are ya'?"

Naruto flinches at his condenscending tone. After all, Naruto had been caught completely off guard, something a ninja never does.

"Scaredy cat."

"_Sasuke!_" He jumps to his feet, charging toward the Uchiha like an angry bull. "You jerk! I oughta-!"

"Knock it off, Naruto!" Sakura barks. "Sasuke-kun just saved your life!"

Naruto stops in his tracks. _No way! I coulda' stopped that rouge...!_ He tells himself, desperately trying to patch his own ego before it cracked any further. _The teme just got to him...a little before I did...that's all._

It's only then that Sakura catches up to them. She flashes a dirty look at Naruto. "You really shouldn't be so reckless, especially in enemy territory! You're lucky it wasn't worse."

"Hmph." Naruto turns away from them, trying to hide his blush. Covering the attempt by folding his arms and huffing, angrily.

"Tsk," Sasuke suddenly begins to walk away, apprently bored with harassing Naruto's dented self-esteem. "Loser, always getting in the way..." He grumbles, one final time.

But that one insult was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Naruto's eyes widen and he spins around. "Sasuke...!" He snarls. "DON'T ACT SO HIGH AND MIGHTY YOU JERK!" He shouts. The level of his voice is so high it scatters a flock of birds nesting in the next tree. They all squack and leap into the air, temporarily abandoning their young to escape the boy's yelling.

"Hn." Is all Sasuke says in response.

Naruto tears across the small clearing to get right in Sasuke's face. An evil little smirk now occupies the blonde's lips. "Admit it, Sasuke!" He snarls, boldly. Even though he has to almost get on his tip-toes to get eye level with the Uchiha. "You act like you don't give a crap about me-"

"Becuase I don't."

"Shut up." He snaps. "But you'd be _lost_ without me!"

"Ha!" Sasuke turns away from him, folding his arms and shaking his head. "That's pretty presumptuous of you."

_What does that mean?_ "Pff! Yeah, keep talkin' big! You'd be worried if anything happened to me!" Naruto challenges him again, even giving his shoulder a little push to get the message across.

"Don't touch me, Dobe!" The other boy snaps.

"Stop avoiding the question, Teme!"

"I already told you! I wouldn't care at all!" Sasuke shouts.

"You're lying and you know it!" Naruto growls.

"Quit being a pest, you-"

"That's quite enough, you two." The collected voice is enough to instantly cease the back and forth between the two rivals. Kakashi frowns at them from where he'd landed beside Sakura. "Honestly, can't we have one mission where you two don't fight over something?"

Neither boy answers him. They both stand their, glaring hatefully at each other.

The Jounin sighs, dramatically and approaches them. Manually prying them away from each other and shoving them forward. "Come on, we've got a job to finish, remember?"

_**-xXx-**_

__After a full day of tracking down rouge ninja and defeating them, Team 7 is finally able to return home. Despite a few bumps and bruises, they are mostly unhurt. Which is a new prospect for them, seeing as how Naruto always seemed to get hurt in some way. But after his run-in with the surprise attack, he'd managed fairly well.

Even Sasuke couldn't complain. Although he would never admit it. Hell would freeze over first! He was almost, _almost_, impressed with how much his annoying little teammate had grown since his days in the academy. He was _almost_ a productive member of the team now..._almost!_

But what was really new, was that after defeating a handful of rouge ninja on his own, the blonde ball of sunshine hadn't cried out in some form of arrogance or cockiness. He'd simply checked to make sure no one else needed his help before chaining up the ninja he'd defeated and waiting for everyone else to finish up.

That's what disturbed Kakashi first. Naruto wasn't acting like himself...and frankly, neither was Sasuke. Both were far quieter than usual. And they hadn't even looked at each other since Kakashi had stopped them from fighting before. What had they been fighting about, anyway?

_**-xXx-**_

__Team 7 stops at their usual place on the bridge. Sakura looked rather stressed, as she always did when her teammates argued like that. And Naruto and Sasuke just looked peeved.

Kakashi sighs and runs a hand through his silver hair. _Sometimes these three are like little children!_ "Alright, guys. Be here bright and early tomorrow for training. Got it?"

"Yes sir..." Sakura mumbles, her head lowered.

"Mm." Naruto nods in consent but doesn't move his gaze from the spot between his feet.

Sasuke remains silent but shifts in a way that said he'd heard.

"Dismissed."

_**-xXx-**_

__"Stupid Sasuke...arrogant jerk!" Naruto grumbles as he fishes in his pocket for his apartment key. "Stupid...cocky...idiot..." Honestly, Naruto couldn't remember the last time he'd been this mad. Sure, the two had had their fair share of arguments and yeah, Naruto always got a little angry. But never had it been this bad. Had Sasuke really told Naruto he didn't care at all about him? That couldn't be true! After all, if he didn't care, then why risk his life to save Naruto from Haku? Why save him from those rouge ninja? Why help him the countless times before that?! It just didn't make sense! The only explination was that Sasuke was just being a stupid, arrogant, prideful JERK!

Naruto throws the door open and stalks into his bedroom, flopping onto the bed without bothering to change his clothes or even get anything to eat. He was too peeved off to eat. Closing his eyes, he continues to mutter hateful insults to the other boy.

But just then...his eyes fly open again. And an evil grin crosses his face. "You don't care, huh Sasuke?" He sits up, still smirking like a murderer. "Well..."

"Why don't we just put that little theory to the test, eh?"


	2. Put To The Test

_**Chapter Two**_

"Ugh! Where _is_ that little idiot?!" Sakura sighs, exasperatedly. She and Sasuke are leaning against the railing of the bridge. Once again waiting for the rest of their team to arrive. But it was never Naruto that kept them waiting. That was always Kakashi's job. So why was Naruto so late today?

Suddenly, it occurs to Sasuke and he finds himself half-smirking. "That Dobe..."

"Huh?" Sakura looks over at her crush with big, innocent eyes. "What is it, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha's smile melts. God, he hated it when she used that flirtatious tone with him. Didn't she get the message. He _wasn't interested_! "He's trying to make us worry about him." Sasuke explains, coldly.

"What do you mean, Sasuke-kun?" She asks him, looking slightly confused.

"Remember yesterday? He said we'd be worried if something happened to him and now? He's 'missing'? Yeah right..."

"Yeah...I guess that does make sense." She mumbles to herself. "Oh, Sasuke-kun! You're sooo smart~!"

The raven rolls his eyes. Why did he even bother talking to her? It always ended up with Sakura trying to flirt with him. And, as previously stated, he was soooo not into that right now! He had more important things to deal with than girls. Like avenging his clan-NO! Sasuke shuts out those thoughts instantly. Now was not the time to being thinking about Itachi-STOP IT! in order to distract himself, Sasuke decides to imagine the look on Naruto's face when he, eventually, shows up to practice only to discover that they had figured out his little scheme way ahead of time.

And he grins again. _He'll probably throw a fit or something..._ Somehow, the idea pleased Sasuke.

_Poof!_

"Yo!" Kakashi smiles down at his students from his perch on the handrail of the bridge. "Sorry I'm late, I got caught up doing a favor for-"

"Liar!" Sakura snaps, jabbing an accusing finger at him. But for some reason, yelling at him didn't feel quite as fulfilling when it was just her..._Stupid Naruto! Why do you have to be such a proud idiot?!_

"Hm?" Kakashi gaazes around his team's meeting place. "Where's Naruto?"

Sakura frowns. "He decided not to come today so he could teach Sasuke a lesson...or something stupid like that."

The Jounin shakes his head. "Well, should we go after him?"

"No point." Sasuke grumbles. "He's stubborn but he'll show up eventually. No way he'd miss out on a chance to train."

"Sasuke-kun's got a point." Sakura says. "He's so obsessed with becoming Hokage, no way he wouldn't show up."

Kakashi nods and stands up from his crouched position. "Alright then. Let's head over to the training field and get started with some sparring while we wait for him."

"Oh? So I have to spar Sasuke-kun...?" She mumbles, unhappily.

"Nope."

"Huh?" Both genin look up at their teacher. "Then...who're we fighting?"

"You'll be teaming up against me." He tells them.

"Oh, like our first survival mission?" Sakura asks.

"Exactly...though it will be a bit tougher without Naruto to back you up." Kakashi warns them.

"Hn, if anything it will be easier. Without that Dobe there to mess me up..." Sasuke seemed confident in his skill alone. Knowing him, he'd probably just end up abandoning Sakura so he could fight Kakashi on his own.

_**-xXx-**_

__"Hmph, that's what you think!" Naruto mutters to himself, wearing a mischievios grin. "You teme...!" He drops to the ground from where he sits high in the trees and jogs back to his apartment. He'd be bored stiff since he couldn't go to practice...but he was willing to make the sacrifice to knock that arrogant Sasuke down a peg or two.

_**-xXx-**_

__"Huff, huff, huff!" Sakura's kneels buckle from exhausion and she collapses to the ground, panting heavily.

Sasuke flips once more, trying to land a solid hit on Kakashi...but to no avail. He swears loudly before also succumbing to his aching muscles and flopping onto the ground.

"You did well." Kakashi tells them, dully. His eye is focused, soley, on the page of his 'Come, Come Paradise' novel. "For just the two of you, that is."

Sasuke huffs, blowing a strand of hair from his face. While Sakura only continues to pant like dying dog. _Come on Naruto! We get it! _Sasuke groans to himself. _Now get your BUTT to practice so we at least have a CHANCE against him!_ But his silent urges get him nowhere. The training field remains perfectly empty, save the three of them. _Are you really planning on missing a whole day of training? That's not your style..._

Without warning, knot twists in Sasuke's chest. A tiny voice, far in the back of his mind, wonders if something really could have happened to the knucklehead. But he pushes that thought away, immediately. _No way, that's just what he wants me to think!_ _Well I've got news for you, Dobe! I'm NOT coming to get you! No WAY am I gonna lose to you!_

And so Sasuke pulls himself to his feet and goes back to attacking Kakashi, still silently praying that Naruto shows up so this horrid feeling of anxiety will leave him alone!

_**-xXx-**_

__By the time Kakashi dubbed the day of training over, Sasuke and Sakura were on the verge of unconsciousness. Panting and gasping for air as they lay in the grass at their sensei's feet.

And Naruto never showed up.

"Sensei..." Sakura begins between gasps. "Maybe we should check on him...you know, make sure he really is okay."

Kakashi-sensei nods. "Yes, I think that's a good idea."

The two of them stand up and start to walk away. Only to pause when they realize it's just the two of them. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura wonders. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"No." He says, flatly.

"Oh..."

"Unlike you two, I haven't been pulled in by his stupid little prank."

"Sasuke-" Kakashi says, his voice a warning.

"Go ahead." The Uchiha boy lays down in the grass again, motioning for them to leave. "I want to rest a little longer anyway." In a way, it was like an apology for being rude...the Uchiha way anyway. Or at least, the Sasuke way...

And so Kakashi and Sakura dissapear from sight. Sasuke folds his arms behind his head and stares up at the darkening sky. _Naruto...this better just be some stupid prank...'cause if you really did get yourself hurt or something..._ He frowns, darkly. _I'll just have to kill you myself for being such a Dobe!_


	3. Worried

_**Chapter Three**_

The sun was already setting over Konoha by the time Kakashi and Sakura arrive at Naruto's small apartment. The metal staircase outside the building went straight to his front door.

_Knock, knock, knock_...

No answer.

"Hm, maybe he isn't home." Kakashi mutters.

With an exaggetarted sigh, Sakura grabs the door knob and pounds on the wooden door. She was determined to give that kuncklehead a piece of her mind! "Naruto, open up!" She calls. No response. She twists the handle, hoping that maybe he left it unlocked. And, surely enough, _pop! _The door creaks open, revealing a dark hallway leading to the rest of the apartment.

The two exchange looks as they step inside.

_So this is where Naruto lives? Why did I picture it being a little less...depressing?_ Sakura wonders to herself.

Kakashi reaches the end of the hall and peers inside the boy's room. "No luck, he's not here." He says.

"But he left the door open..." Sakura mumbles. "Even for Naruto, that's pretty irresponsible, don't you think?"

Kakashi doesn't answer her. Instead, he makes his way back to the front door. "Maybe he was in a hurry to go somewhere."

_Or maybe something really has happened to him..._ Sakura frowns and begins to toy, nervously, with a strand of her hair. "Yeah...I guess...maybe he went to Ichiraku."

Kakashi nods, smiling under his mask. "Don't worry, Sakura." He tells her. "I'm sure he's fine." And the two leave Naruto's apartment, making sure to close the door before they go.

_**-xXx-**_

__Naruto chuckles, joyfully from where he is crouched on the rooftop of the next building. _I had only meant to give Sasuke a little scare...but it seems Sensei and Sakura-chan care a little more than they let on! I shoulda done this a long time ago! _The blonde laughs as he watches his two teammates dissapear down the road.

It's only then that he notices it had only been the _two_ of them...no Sasuke. _Hmm, still not worried? Eh, Sasuke-teme? _His grin turns morbid when he thinks, _I didn't want to have to do this...but you've forced my hand, Sasuke!_ From his pouch, he produces a small vial, the size of his palm. Within it, is a dusty, red powder. _We'll see just how much you 'don't care' after this!_ And with one final chuckle, he takes off in the direction of the Uchiha compound...

_**-xXx-**_

__"Hn..." Sasuke tries once more to close his eyes. He was having some difficulty not-thinking tonight and that was beginning to affect his sleep. It was already three o'clock in the morning and he hadn't slept a wink.

And what was causing this night of insomnia? To the Uchiha's dismay, it was the fact they Naruto had never showed up. Sasuke _knew_ Naruto was only trying to make them worry. Sasuke _knew_ he was just being played with! So _why_ was he still so worried?! _Why in the world_ couldn't he sleep?! "Tsk, stupid idiot!" He snarls under his breath. "I oughta-"

"_Sasu...ke..._"

The raven's body goes rigid. What was that? He sits up, searching the dark bedroom for the source of the voice...he saw no one. _Am I hearing things now?_

"_Sas...u...ke..."_

He flinches. No, he had definately heard that! But that voice... "Naruto?" Sasuke growls as he stands up. "What are you doing at my house, Dobe?" For some reason unfathomable to Sasuke, his heart was pounding. Why was Naruto's voice so weak? He sounded...hurt.

There was no response to his question.

"Naruto?" Sasuke calls again.

Silence.

"Tsk!" Sasuke stops. _Get it together!_ He wills himself. _He's only messing with you! Remember? He wants you to worry!_ But the same little voice as before, suddenly says, _Well it's working!_

The raven shakes his head and goes back to bed. Flopping down onto the matress and shutting his eyes. He _wasn't _going to think anymore! He _refused_ to be concerned about that dope!

And, eventually, it works. At some point, sleep consumes the teen...little did he know, the rude awakening he was about to recieve...

_**-xXx-**_

__Naruto yawns, loudly. Stretching his arms above his head, he tries to blink the sleepiness from his blood-shot eyes. He hadn't managed to sleep well last night. Not with all the pranking he'd been doing...

Just thinking about what Sasuke might do when he saw it, made Naruto grin. That teme...Naruto almost felt bad for him..._almost._ He was in for the shock of a lifetime, as soon as he woke up. With a half-hearted sigh, Naruto pulls himself out of bed. He wanted to be there to see the teme crap his pants! _ Heehee! I can't wait!_ He giggles to himself before slipping outside.

_**-xXx-**_

__"_**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_"

Sasuke's eyes snap open. His body springing upright in bed the moment he hears the scream. _Oh God, what now?_ He jumps out of bed, vaugly noticing he had never changed into pajamas last night...

The Uchiha boy throws open his front door and... "What the...?" He recoils away from the horrifying sight.

"Oh God...what on...earth?!"


	4. Return of the Wolf

_**Chapter Four**_

Sasuke stares down at the brick walkway, a look of pure horror in his eyes. The spot nearest his front door glistened with a sheen of red. _Is this...blood?_ The raven's heart leaps into his throat. _I heard Naruto's voice last night!_ He suddenly remembers.

Sasuke jumps over the blood and spins a full three-sixty, trying to see where the blood had come from. Surely enough, further into his yard is another smear of crimson. It looked fresh... And further still, is yet another splotch of red. _A trail?_ He frowns. It was almost to convenient...but he wasn't going to ignore it.

He'd never forgive himself if Naruto really was in danger, and had needed his help from the start...

_**-xXx-**_

As Sasuke takes off sprinting into the woods, following the trail Naruto had left for him, the blonde nods, approvingly. _See? I told you so, teme!_ And, with a quick glance at his surroundings, he too runs to the forest. Following a trail he'd left for himself so he'd arrive at the same time Sasuke would...

_**-xXx-**_

It only takes a few minutes for both boys to arrive at their destinations. Sasuke immediately finds the 'gift' Naruto had left for him...

"Naruto..." Sasuke stares at the ground below his feet. It was soaked, drenched with red. _Blood..._ He swallows, nervously, feeling the panic building in his chest. Yeah...something was _definately_ wrong here! The Uchiha's eyes drift away from the crimson puddle. He didn't want to think about the, very real, possibility that it could belong to his best friend. But just then...what was that?

A spark of light, like a ray of sun glinting off metal, catches his eye. He frowns, crossing the grass and kneeling beside the bush the reflection had come from. The breath catches in his throat. _No...no way...! _A Konoha headband was dangling from one of the branches. A firmiliar nick in the plating confirms his suspicion. This was Naruto's headband, for sure. And it too, was dripping with fresh blood. _Naruto...!_ Sasuke's hands ball into fists, shaking with fear. _What happened here?! _

An image of his best friend's sunny face suddenly finds the forefront of his mind. _Admit it, Sasuke! _Naruto had barked, angrily. _You'd be worried if something happened to me!_ Yes...he was right. Sasuke was more than worried. He was terrified! What if Naruto was hurt? With all this blood... Sasuke swallows. Naruto could be laying dead somewhere!

Without a moment's thought, he bolts back out of the woods and toward the training field. He would need Kakashi's help if he was going to track Naruto down. Sasuke could only hope he wasn't too late...

_**-xXx-**_

A little smirk crawls over the boy's tanned face. His eyes gleaming with mischief. "Hmph! You wouldn't be scared, eh? Sasuke-teme?" Naruto laughs as he drops down from his perch in the trees. _Hm...he's probably gonna go tell Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan about the blood..._ His smile melts. _They were really worried earlier...I didn't want to scare them. Only that jerk, Sasuke._ With a resigned sigh, he says, "Maybe I should just-"

_Crunch!_

"What was-" Naruto turns around, thinking maybe Sasuke had returned for some reason, when a hand clamps down on the back of his neck. A crushing weight slams him to the forest floor and suddenly he's face down in the dirt. With a feeling like someone's knee digging into his spine. "Ugh! Geez, Sasuke! Okay, I'm sorry there's no need to-"

A pair of lips brush his ear, the feeling of his attacker's breath whispers over his cheek. "Did you miss me, Konoha brat?"

Naruto's body goes rigid. He recognized that voice...one of the rouge ninja who'd managed to escape during their mission! He immediately steels himself, preparing for a fight.

"You know," She purrs. "You gave us quite a hard time back there. A few of my friends even got hurt..."

He growls furiously, struggling against her weight. But no luck, he was pinned. Her grip tightens, almost painfully.

"I've been waiting for one of you Leaf Ninja to wander off on your own...and lucky me...it was _you_! You're the one who hurt my little brother...!"

Naruto swears under his breath, still pushing to get her off of him. _Kuso! What do I do?! I can't move at all!_

There's a weirdly firmiliar sound, like metal clinking against metal. Something cold and...sharp? touches his neck...His body instantly goes as still as a board and he stops his fighting.

The woman's voice turns hard when she says, "I oughta slit your throat right here...let your friends find you dead or close to it...by the time they get to you, there'll be no saving you." She presses the blade of the kunai closer to his skin.

Naruto's heart was hammering painfully fast in his chest. Slamming against his ribs with each powerful thud. _What do I do?! What do I do?!_

"Oh-ho! Your little heart's beating pretty quick now, boy." She comments. A hint of morbid humor in her voice. "Are you scared?" With a tilt of her head, she whispers, "You should be..."

"Gg-" Naruto gasps when she suddenly draws the tip of the blade along his jugular vein, drawing little circles in his flesh.

"This might hurt just a little..." She giggles, angling the knife to make a single, clean slice. Ending his life in a matter of seconds. "That's what you get...for hurting my little brother...!"


	5. Gone Unheard

_**Chapter Five**_

_**A/N: I use a jutsu in here called "torendo drop". Not sure if it's real (it's from a Naruto game) and is used by Temari but, just bare with my lack of creativity because I use it for an enemy.**_

"Say goodbye...Konoha brat!"

Blood splatters over the grass, inciting an agonized scream from its owner. The rouge ninja stumbles away, clutching her thigh where Naruto's kunai had managed to reach her.

He scrambles to his feet, touching a shaking hand to his throat where a paper-thin line of blood was beginning to well up to the surface. _Too close...that was way too close...!_ Naruto had just barely managed to grab the knife from his pouch before she'd threatened to slit his throat. If he had been a moment too slow... Shaking his head, he tenses for a fight.

"Urg...you're gonna pay for that, you brat!" She snaps, angrily.

"I'd run if I were you!" He calls to her. "My team will be here soon!"

She stops for a moment. Naruto can see the wheels turning in her head. She smirks. "Then why don't we move this party elsewhere?"

"What...?"

"Wind Style..." She coils back her arm, leaving her fist open and the palm turned toward him. "Torendo Drop!"

Naruto gasps when he is suddenly slammed by an unseen force. His body thrown back against a tree which shatters under the force of the blow. His vision goes dark around the edges as whiteness marrs the rest of his sight.

"Oops, sorry." She laughs, flexing her hands. "I almost forgot how powerful that technique is!"

He slips off the surface of the tree, landing on the ground with a _thud_. When had these rouges become so strong...? His team hadn't had any trouble with them before... Most of them were at genin level... But this woman...

Naruto lifts his eyes to her as he tries to push himself up. There was something...strange about her. The way seemed to underestimate her own attack wasn't characteristic of a shinobi...

She takes a step forward, kneeling down to grab him by his collar. Once again, she leans down so her lips are so close to his ear, he can feel her breath on his neck. "I'm going to enjoy killing you..."

Just as his vision fades into one, big color, he spots the difference on her. The reason she must have been so strong. That mark on her neck...it seemed to eminate chakra. And a foul chakra at that.

"Lord Orochimaru doesn't care if you die...only that the Uchiha boy lives..."

_**-xXx-**_

__"This way!" Sasuke barks as he sprints ahead of his team. The raven's coal-colored eyes scan the forest floor as he runs. The blood was near here somewhere. "Here!" He stops just ahead of it. The puddle looked older than before, even though it had only been minutes since he last saw it. Some of the red around the edges was already completely dry, even dusty in appearance. That wasn't normal...

That's when Kakashi and Sakura catch up to him. Both stop and stare at the semi-evaporated puddle of crimson. "I thought you said it was fresh." Their sensei asks.

"It was...a few minutes ago."

"Hmm..." Kakashi weaves a series of complicated handsigns before slamming his palms to the ground. "Summoning jutsu!" With a puff of smoke, a small dog appears beside him. "Pakkun," Kakashi says, motioning toward the blood. "Who's is it? Anyone we know?"

The small pug walks over to the smear and sniffs. "Hm, nope. No one firmiliar to me." He says, frowning at it.

"Then who-"

"Actually," Pakkun says, interrupting Sasuke's question. "This isn't blood that's firmiliar to anybody."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asks.

"Because it's not real blood."

"Huh?!" Sasuke demands. "What do you mean it isn't real?!"

"I mean, it's fake blood. The same stuff ninja use to throw off pursuers. It looks real, it feels real. But, if your nose is trained well enough, it smells totally fake." The dog explains, matter-of-factly.

"Ah!" Sakura gasps, her face red with fury. "So the idiot Naruto really _was_ messing with us! That little jerk! You just wait until I get my hands on him!"

"Pakkun," Kakashi says. "Can you track Naruto's scent? We haven't seen him in a few days...this might be his doing."

"Sure thing." Pakkun says, touching his nose to the ground. "He's nearby."

Kakashi turns to his students. "Why don't you two return to the training field, I'll take care of this."

"Yes sir." Sakura says before turning and trotting off in the direction of the field.

"Hn." Sasuke's brow was contorted in mixture of emotions. The main one being complete fury. How _dare_ that Dobe do something this stupid?! How _dare_ he make Sasuke that scared?! Oh, he was gonna pay, that was for sure!

_**-xXx-**_

__"Ughhh..." Naruto shifts, uncomfortably. Trying to clear his vision, he blinks several times. When he tries to move, he discovers an aching pain in his arm. "Ohhh..." _What happened?_ He wonders, numbly. Looking around, he finds himself lying on the ground. His body half dangling over the edge of a river. His right hand was submerged in the ice cold water. _Oh yeah..._ He shakes his head, clearing it of the last of its fogginess. _That kunoichi..._ He frowns. Where had she gone? She was no where in sight. _She and I were fighting and then...she stepped on something...a paper bomb? _

Yes, he remembered now. She had set up traps throughout the forest, in hopes of catching them off guard. But he had pushed her into one, and the force of the explosion had thrown him over the edge of a cliff and down to the river bank, where he laid now. But Naruto had no inkling of an idea where she had ended up.

_I wonder if anyone heard the explosion...? _It was quite possible no one had. The two had fighting pretty deep in the woods. He wouldn't be surprised if the sound had been completely muffled by the trees. However...

"Nnn!" Naruto tries again to move, only to have his arm scream in pain and force him to stop. The pain had spread now. He felt it in his back as well. _I must have broken something..._ He notes to himself in a dry thought. _Maybe someone did hear...that would be a good thing, seeing as how...I can't seem to move..._


	6. Rogue

_**Chapter Six**_

_**A/N: Kind of a short chapter, sorry. In this chapter, you are introduced to a 'new character' of sorts. I am NOT going any deeper in her story. So do with it what you will.**_

"We're getting close." Pakkun races ahead of Kakashi. The dog's small nose is pressed to the ground, following the ever strengthening scent trail that would eventually lead them to Naruto.

"What would he be doing all the way out here?" Kakashi wonders out loud.

"Huh?" Suddenly, Pakkun stops.

"What is it?"

"There's another scent now. One I don't recognize." Says the dog.

"Okay, let's keep-"

"And one more thing..."

"Yeah?" Kakashi watches Pakkun's face, which is twisted in confusion and worry.

"I smell blood."

_**-xXx-**_

__Her breaths were coming short and labored. The rogue's leg was still bleeding, heavily...she found it nearly impossible to stop shivering. _I'm going to...bleed to death...if I don't move...soon..._ She shakes her head, trying to clear her vision but only succeeds in making the world spin before her. _That...brat..._ It had been purely luck on his part. That he'd managed to cut her in just the right spot.

The kunoichi's eyes flick to the group of traps surrounding her. She'd managed to place them before her wound had gotten too bad. They would protect her if she passed out but. But unless she somehow managed to heal herself, she wouldn't be able to maneuver around them without triggering them.

Suddenly-

"The scent is close by!"

She braces herself for confrontation. She didn't recognize the voice but then again, she was in enemy territory. Whoever he was, he wasn't her friend. It's right then that two figures burst free from the trees. They land, simultaneously, on the ground mere inches before her traps.

A man, who she recognized as Kakashi Hatake. The Copy Ninja. And a small dog. Probably Kakashi's summon. The rogue finds herself smirking the way a person does when they know they're cornered and out of hope. That half-hearted little grin that says, 'yeah, okay. You got me.'

Clamping a hand around her thigh, she shifts. "You...might not want to come...any closer...unless you want to...explode." She chokes out between breaths.

Kakashi looks down at the traps, half buried under leaves and dirt. His left eye glowing red. "Paper bombs." He mutters to himself. There were hundreds of them. Nearly impossible to get around. _You'd need Byakugan to avoid them..._ He comments, dryly.

"So...? What're you gonna...do? Huh?" She laughs, finching in pain afterwards.

"You're one of them." Kakashi says, suddenly.

"Hm?"

"One of the Missing Ninja we ran into on our mission the other day." The silver haired man clarifies.

"Yes." She nods, jerkily. Her eyes are starting to look glazed, unfocused. _I'm...going to die...aren't I...?_

"So you remember, don't you? The three genin I had with me."

She nods after a small hesitation.

Kakashi doesn't speak for a few moments after that. He takes so long to finish, the dying rogue begins to wonder if he'd left...she couldn't lift her head to see though. She was far to weak.

"You look like you're in pretty bad shape."

She snickers, tiredly. "You could...say that..."

"What happened?"

"I think you can...guess who did...this to...me..."

"Naruto."

Recognition flicks through her half lidded eyes. "So that's...his name..."

"Yes."

She finally forces herself to lift her head. "Why are you...doing this...?"

"He's missing." Kakashi tells her. "We haven't seen him in a few days. You know where he is."

"Ahh..." She nods, a faint smile on her blood caked lips. "Now I...understand..."

"I'll make you a deal." Kakashi takes one, small step forward. "You tell me where my student is, and I'll see to it that your life is saved."

She doesn't respond.

"Deal?"

Her eyes close. _Sorry, Lord Orochimaru...but you sent me to my death...and this man is offering to be my savior...even if it is for his own reasons. I promised you my life in exchange for information of the Uchiha boy. But it looks like...I'm going to die without you ever getting what you wanted. _

Without warning, her hand snaps up. A thin wire, wrapped around her fingertip is tugged, tightly between her hand and the hundreds of paper tags lining the forest floor. "Goodbye...brother..."

Her eyes close for the last time. _And I'm sorry..._

There's a flash of light and then...

_BOOM!_


	7. Pinned Down

_**Chapter Seven**_

_BOOM!_

The two genin stop in their tracks. Was that an explosion just now? Sakura spins around to face the woods again and, craning her neck, sees a plume of smoke rising above the tress.

"Sasuke-kun!" She gasps, looking back to her companion. "You don't think that could have Kakashi-sensei...or Naruto do you?!"

Sasuke's eyes turn hard. "Let's go!"

_**-xXx-**_

Heat and debris from the blast fill the air. Somewhere close by, one of the many trees give out, buckle and fall to the ground. The mud wall was charred, almost all the way through and there was still fire dancing all around them.

Kakashi lowers his head, exhaling a shaky breath. _That was close..._ He looks down at the woman in his arms. She had passed out and looked extremely pale. But she was still alive, nonetheless. The Copy Ninja stands, releasing his mud wall jutsu so that is crumbles to the ground.

Seconds later, he hears a crunch overhead.

"Sensei!" Sakura lands before him, her jade eyes wide with worry.

"What happened here?" Sasuke demands as he lands beside her. Their eyes fall on the rogue ninja cradled in Kakashi's arms. Sasuke frowns, inspecting her closely. "She looks firmiliar..."

"Isn't she...?" Sakura takes a step closer. "Isn't she one of the Missing Ninja we fought on our mission?!"

Kakashi nods. "Yes, looks like she knows where Naruto is as well."

"Did she say anything?" Sasuke mutters, his black eyes fixated on the woman's face. She was out cold. There would be no waking her anytime soon.

"The two of them fought. And, if her injury is of any indication, it was a pretty serious fight."

"Well...where _is_ Naruto?" Sakura asks, timidly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know, after all...what if he really was hurt?

"I didn't get a chance to ask her. She tried to blow herself up before I was able to." He explains, sullenly.

"But he's got to be close, right?" Sasuke turns, scanning the treeline.

"There's no guarentee of that."

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks, walking toward him. He looked...strange. There was a weird look in his eyes that she'd never seen before. Something like a mixture of fury and...terror.

"I'm gonna go look around." The Uchiha suddenly says. "Sakura, stay here with Kakashi. Who knows what could happen when that woman wakes up."

_**-xXx-**_

_Sasuke-kun..._ Sakura watches as he dissapears from sight, a sad expression on her face. _You don't think Naruto could be...?_ Before she can finish the thought, Kakashi moves.

Her sensei sets the woman onto the ground. "We'll have to keep watch over her. We can't let her get away if she wakes up."

"...right..." Sakura straightens up and goes to the other side of her, blocking the only other possible escape route, before sitting down and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Sakura,"

"Hm?" She glances up to find Kakashi smiling at her behind his mask. "He's fine."

"Uh," She forces herself to smile. "Right."

_**-xXx-**_

_Here it is..._ Sasuke lowers himself to the ground, eyeing the trail of fake blood Naruto had left for him. The blonde's headband was still lying in the dirt where he'd left it. Except...there was something slightly different about the scene. He'd missed it when he had brought Kakashi and Sakura here.

A slight scuff smark in the ground, like something had hit the dirt hard...or had been knocked over. _Evidence of a fight._ He tells himself. Then, turning in a slow circle, he sees the crippled branch of a tree where something had also hit it as well.

Next, he sees a kunai buried deep into the earth. _The real trial goes that way. Naruto and that woman must have looped around before she ended up where she is now. So he is somewhere between here and there..._

Sasuke had never been very good at tracking, since he hadn't had much practice, save the few lessons he'd recieved in the academy. But, now, he was wishing he'd paid a little more attention. Since there was an aching feeling in his chest. It felt...foreboding. He needed to find Naruto. _Now_.

_**-xXx-**_

"Gg..." Naruto presses the heels of his palms into the ground, not even feeling the pain as jagged stones cut them open. He was too focused on the other pain, in his arm and back. Something wasn't right but he couldn't move enough to inspect his injury. He felt...pinned. Like there was something holding him down, despite the fact that there was clearly nothing on top of him. _Come on, Uzumaki...MOVE!_

At that moment, he takes a breath and jerks himself upright, forcing his body to move away from whatever was holding him down. If only he'd known what a mistake that was...

There was a sickening sound, like something ripping. Another noise, like liquid splattering over the stones. And then...everything goes black before his eyes.

_**A/N: I feel like that cliffhanger was almost cheap. Sorry if you agree XD**_


	8. Discovered

_**Chapter Eight**_

"Nnnn..." _No...way...I'm still... _Squeezing her eyes shut, the rogue manages to roll onto her side. Strangely enough, he feels little pain in her leg. It felt more numb than anything. _That can't be...good._

"Are you awake?"

She jolts upright, shocked by the presence of the other voice. Even though it clearly belonged to a young girl. "Huh?!" Looking, feverishly about, she spots Kakashi watching them from the branch of a high tree. "What happened?!" She demands, angrily. There was a newfound strength in her voice. "How am I still alive?!"

"I'm the Copy Ninja, remember?" Kakashi shrugs, casually and drops to the ground. "I saw through what you were going to do before you did it." He explains, cryptically.

"What?"

"My Sharingan eye can predict your movements before you make them."

The rogue stares at the gleaming, red eye. It looked dangerous, even from a distance. "Okay then...fine. You saved me...Now what?"

"Now, you tell us where Naruto is."

"Or what? What if I refuse?" She snaps, folding her arms.

Kakashi sighs and kneels down in front of her. "Predicting your movements...isn't the only thing this eye can do. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?"

She finds herself going stiff. "Uh..." _I'm caught...got no other choice._ "Fine. I'll tell you where he is."

"Then wh-"

"But! I gotta warn you..." She closes her eyes, a half-hearted grin on her face. "I told my buddies...if I didn't come back in a half hour, it meant I was dead. So that means they've come looking for me." Her eyes slide open again, holding a look of sadness. "Your friend hasn't got much time before he's found. They won't hold back...like I did."

_**-xXx-**_

__Sasuke glides down the rock wall, landing heavily on the river side. This was where the trail had led him. Just above here, there was evidence of an explosion. Possibly from another paper bomb.

But then, here, there was nothing. The trail just...stopped.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouts. He had to be nearby. "Naruto, can you hear me?!"

He gets no response.

_Kuso!_ The Uchiha jogs up the side of the river. It was a slow moving one but deep. _Did he fall in?_ Sasuke was just about to jump in himself-he was already yanking off his shoes-when he hears something.

He doesn't know how to explain it, really. Like something heavy falling on marbles...? A skittering noise, muffled by a heavy thump. And...a groan!

"Naruto?!" He takes off like a bullet in the direction the sound had come from. The raven finds himself running much farther down the stream than he'd thought. How had Naruto ended up so far from the path without leaving a single footprint? Had he _flown _here?

He suddenly skids to a halt. Horror gripping his throat closed and his eyes wide. "Oh...what the...?"

Suddenly, the idea that Naruto had flown through the air to this spot wasn't so impossible...

The blonde was lying on his side, his arms and legs stretched out in front of him. A position similar to fetal. His chest was moving rapidly, his shoulder shuddering along with each breath. His orange and blue jacket was stained red, near the belly...where the long, jagged end of a shattered kunai was buried in the boy's stomach.

"Oh...God..." Sasuke was standing there, on the other side of the river, staring at his best friend. The Uchiha's body was shaking so much, Naruto's body looked motionless in comparison. He jumps over the water and kneels beside Naruto.

He touches a quivering hand to the boy's shoulder. "H-hey! Naruto..."

He gets no response except for a hitch in the other's boy breathing. God, that looked painful... How had this happened? In the explosion, maybe?

"Naruto...I..." Sasuke hesitates. This was going to sound so pathetic...he almost hoped his rival couldn't hear him. "I don't know if you can hear me...but...I'm gonna help you. Just hang on."

Just as he goes to stand, a small whimper escapes Naruto's lips. His face should have been contored into an mask of pain. But it wasn't. He looked peaceful, like he was sleeping.

...sleeping with a knife in his gut...

Sasuke shakes his head. "Just hang on." He repeats, more to himself this time. _Okay..._ He stands up. _What the heck am I supposed to do?! I can't carry him. Moving Naruto in this condition could-_ No, stop. He wasn't even going to let himself imagine it. Naruto was _not_ gonna die. Sasuke would see to that...

_But even so...how do I help him? If I pull the knife out, he'll bleed to death in seconds. And I can't move him until his bleeding has stopped and I'm sure the kunai won't puncture a vital organ. Oh God...what do I do?!_ _WHAT DO I DO?!_

_**-xXx-**_

__"Sakura, are you sure you can handle her on your own?" Kakashi asks in a hushed voice.

"Yes." The rosette replies, confidently.

"I won't...cause any...trouble..." The rogue pants. "I'm gonna...go to...sleep."

"Hm." Kakashi huffs, suspiciously. "Be careful." He says to his student before turning to take off in the direction their captive had pointed him in. Apparently, she's planted a paper bomb on a tree branch. Which Naruto stepped on. He'd been thrown over the edge of a cliff, near the river.

Even from this distance, Kakashi could smell the rustic scent of the neaby stream. As well as the charred remains of a burning tree...


	9. Awakening

_**Chapter Nine**_

"Ugh...gg..." Naruto's body twitches, his arms and legs spasming almost violently. While this happens, Sasuke just sits beside him and watches. Wracking his brain to find anything _anything_ he could do to save him.

But there was literally nothing. If he moved Naruto, the knife in his stomach would probably cut deeper, causing him to bleed at a faster rate. But if he removed the blade...he'd die in seconds. So there was literally nothing Sasuke could do...except sit there and watch as his best friend suffers right in front of him.

He'd never felt this useless before.

Well...ever since his parents died.

He _hated_ this feeling.

He _hated_ watching this!

But the worst part was...this whole thing...was completely avoidable. If Sasuke hadn't been so proud...Naruto never would have run off like that. None of this would be happening. _This is my fault._ Sasuke realizes, his twisting stomach into knots. _Naruto might die...and it's all my fault..._

For the first time in...well...a long time, Sasuke felt tears stinging his eyes. His vision was blurring before him, distorting Naruto's image as he laid out on the rocks. His pale and weakened body jerking and spasming from blood loss and shock.

"Naruto..." He breathes. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"_I'm so sorry..."_

_**-xXx-**_

_** "Heh, heh, heh...you good for nothing..."**_

_**-xXx-**_

__"Oh, that looks painful." The young boy crouches down further, supporting himself on a tree trunk. "Do you think that's the boy Sis fought?" He glances at his companion, another boy who was staring at the distant figure, lying in the stones beside the river.

"There's no one else around." He replies. "And I doubt she'd go down without a fight...and he looks pretty bad off."

The rogue's brother nods. "Yeah..."

"So?" His teammate turns. "What do you want to do? She's your sister."

His eyes tighten. "We don't know that...he killed her..."

"Eiji."

He flinches at the scolding tone in his friends voice.

"Eiji, your sister's strong but...she'd find a way to come back if she was able. Remember what she said."

"She'd be back in a half hour..."

"Right. And she isn't."

Suddenly, the look in Eiji's eyes turns hateful. "Do you really think he killed her?"

"I think we shouldn't waste our chance." A kunai slips into his hand.

"Right...I-"

"Naruto!" That's when a figure bursts free from the tree line. The dark haired boy races to Naruto's side, kneeling down beside him. "Naruto...I don't know if you can hear me but...I'm gonna help you!" He says in a low voice.

"_Kuso_!" Eiji and his teammate get lower, hiding themselves behind the brush. "Back up?!"

"That's what it looks like." His companion says.

"Should we chance it?" Eiji mutters, tensing himself to jump Naruto's friend.

"Hm...that's up to you."

A little, angry smile plays on his lips. "Yeah, let's go for it."

They slip out of the bushes, staying perfectly silent as they creep up behind the raven haired boy, who's hands suddenly ball into fists. "I'm sorry, Naruto...I'm sorry."

_**-xXx-**_

__"_I'm so sorry..._"

"Well, well ain't this cute?"

Sasuke's body freezes, his heart slamming into his throat.

"So, you a friend of his?"

Two voices. There were two of them, at least. Those odds weren't good, on Sasuke's favor. "Who are you?" Sasuke asks, without turning around.

"I should be asking you that." One of them counters. "Answer me this. Who was the one...who killed my sister?"

Sasuke's brow crunches in confusion. "What? We didn't kill anyone."

"Tsk!"

Sasuke stands up, slowly. Making no sudden movements, he turns to face his opponents. There were only two. Two boys no older than him and Naruto. One of them, a brown haired boy with his arm wrapped in a bandage, looked strangely firmiliar.

Obviously, he felt the same. "You're..." Eiji gasps, tensing himself for attack. "You're the ones we fought a few days ago!"

Sasuke nods. "Yeah...and your sister is the person who did this!" He motions to Naruto, who was still shaking slightly. The front of his jacket had been stained a deeper red than before, as more blood seeps from his wound. "He's dying because of what your sister did!"

"And she's _dead_ because of him!" Eiji snaps, furiously. "And I'm gonna be the one to _kill _him for it!"

_**-xXx-**_

_** "Naruto..."**_

___"Huh...?" He doesn't bother to open his eyes, he was far too tired to care where that voice was coming from._

_**"You are weak..."**_

_ "Shut...up..." The blonde mumbles, covering his eyes with his arm. He wanted to go back to sleep but this person wouldn't be quiet long enough!_

_**"Take my power...show them what we can do."**_

___"What...?" He takes his arm away to look at whoever was speaking. But before he gets the chance to pry his eyes open... "Ah!" He gasps, clutching his stomach where a sudden heat had exploded within him. *This feels like...chakra...?*_

_**-xXx-**_

___Sssssssss..._ The subtle hissing noise goes entirely unnoticed by the three ninja, standing only feet away. They had begun to fight. The clashing and banging on kunai on kunai reverberates through the air.

Sasuke flips around, bouncing off his hand and driving a kick into Eiji's stomach. The other boy's hand immediately moves to stop it, just barely managing to block Sasuke's foot. Eiji grabs his ankle, knocking Sasuke off balance and throwing him to the side.

"I'm not interested in you." Eiji tells him, harshly. "I'm here for him."

None of the boys had noticed the thin vein of steam that was rising from Naruto's wound. Not until Eiji was towering over him, a knife in hand.

"Huh...?" The younger brother moves a bit closer, eyeing the steam curiously. Where was it coming from? But then, he decides he doesn't care. Naruto had _killed_ his _sister_! And he wanted revenge. Angling his kunai, the way his sister had taught him, Eiji plunges the knife downward, hell-bent on killing him right then and there.

That is...until-

Eiji's knife sinks into the ground, under the puddle of blood Naruto had left. Except... "What the...?" He turns around. Where was Naruto?

Something catches him by the back of the neck, slamming him to the ground. Eiji's heart stops for a split second. _What is going...on?_

Sasuke stares in shock at the bloodied, battered form of his best friend. Crouched over top of his enemy with his face twisted into an expression of fury.

_Naru...to? Is that really...you?_


	10. Aweful Chakra

_**Chapter Ten**_

"AGH! LET GO OF ME!" Eiji shouts as he squirms, furiously, beneath Naruto. "GET OFF ME!" But his pleas were hopeless. Naruto, obviously, wasn't planning on releasing him anytime soon... Instead, the blonde begins to put pressure on his arm which was twisted behind his back, threatening to pop it out of joint...or break it. Immediately, the other boy's shouts go silent. His body going very still.

"Hey!" Eiji's teammate rushes forward, pulling a kunai from his tigh holster, only to be stopped by Sasuke's fist to his gut. He slips to the ground, unconscious.

"Naruto..." Sasuke says, standing upright again. "What are you..."

"AHH!" Eiji cries out in pain as Naruto gives his arm a sudden jerk, but not quite hard enough to snap the bone.

_What the heck is happening? Just two seconds ago, Naruto was totally out of comission! But now it's like...he doesn't even feel his injury anymore..._ Sasuke steadies himself and takes a small step forward. "Naruto." He says. "Okay, that's enough. He's not gonna fight us anymore. There's no reason to-"

_SNAP!_

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sasuke recoils in disgust as Naruto finally yanks, hard on Eiji's arm. The boy's shoulder gives way with a sharp snapping sound.

"Okay! Naruto, get off him! That's enough!" Sasuke expects Naruto to give some smart come back, tell him to chill out or...something. Any kind of response would have been...acceptable. But he gets none.

Naruto only continues to crouch overtop Eiji's writhing body. His shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

A chill runs down Sasuke's spine. _Naruto...what the heck is wrong with you?!_ He wanted to ask out loud but...his words were caught in his throat. He couldn't breath, he couldn't move. What was that...aweful chakra all of a sudden?

"Sasuke!"

The raven vaugly noticed Kakashi's voice calling to him, but his eyes were still locked on Naruto. He couldn't tear his gaze from him. That is, until he feels a hand touching his arm.

"Kakashi..." He says, shakily.

"What's going on here?" Their sensei asks.

"I-I don't...there's something wrong with Naruto..."

"What?" Kakashi frowns. How had he missed it? That was the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra for sure...only a little of it, but still the same chakra. "Naruto!" Kakashi calls, just 'testing the waters'. Seeing how much awareness the boy had.

Naruto's face changes at the sound of his name being called. A slight twitch but then it's gone. He turns, slowly. Now facing his teacher and teammate.

_Hmm...what do I do about this?_ Kakashi asks himself. He glances at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. _Sasuke doesn't know about the Fox...I'll have to handle this carefully so as not to reveal anything._

"Naruto," Kakashi says, firmly. "Come on, you've defeated your enemy. It's time to calm down."

A low growl rumbles in the younger boy's throat. His eyes locked on Kakashi in a murderous glare as he starts to move. Naruto releases Eiji's captive arm and turns on Kakashi and Sasuke. He lets out an animalistic snarl, baring his teeth like an angry dog.

_Naruto...?_ Sasuke feels his body going tense. What was that chakra? Where was it coming from? And...why was Naruto acting so hostile toward them?

Kakashi cuts a look at Sasuke, who was beginning to piece the information together. _I can't let this go any farther!_ Then, in a flash, Kakashi is standing next Naruto. A hand on the blonde Jinchuuriki's shoulder. "Naruto," He says.

Naruto's eyes pulse crimson when he spins to face his teacher. However, when their eyes meet, Naruto's head begins to spin. His eyes feel like they're going crossed. Instantly, the rapid beating of his heart slows and he feels calmer. Like he's going to fall asleep.

Kakashi catches Naruto with one arm and uses the other to cover his Sharingan. _I don't know what I would have done...if not for this eye._ He pauses. _Thank you, Obito._

_**-xXx-**_

__Kakashi and Sasuke jump through the trees in total silence. The raven haired boy never questions what happened back by the river. Maybe it was because he was too busy carrying Eiji and the other rogue ninja. Or maybe it was because he determined to figure it out on his own.

Eventually, they arrive at the clearing where Sakura is keeping watch over Eiji's sister. The rosette immediately brightens at the sight of her team. "Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke-kun!" She calls, joyfully. That is, until her eyes fall on Naruto. "Oh! Is he okay?!"

Kakashi nods. "He was hurt pretty badly but he should be fine."

"And..." Now she notices the two rogue ninja on Sasuke back. "Who are they?"

"That's my..." The other woman stares, wide eyed at Eiji. "My brother! What happened to him?!" She demands, angrilly. "Why is he uncoscious?!"

"Naruto knocked him out, but he'll live."

She frowns. "You'd better hope so..."


	11. Thank You

_**Chapter Eleven**_

"You'd better hope he pulls through..."

With a tired sigh, Kakashi orders that the woman stand up. She obeys, grudgingly. Sakura quickly hurries around behind the rogue and ties her hands behind her back.

"Alright, don't do anything stupid." Kakashi tells her. "None of us are in a very good mood and we're eager to get home. So behaving is in your best interest right now."

"Hn." The woman huffs but bows her head, showing she won't act up. After all... _I can't escape without Eiji and Dai._ _I refuse to leave them behind._

_**-xXx-**_

__About twenty minutes into their trip, the village gates come into sight. Inciting a relieved sigh from three of the seven shinobi. Just as they are about to drop to the ground and walk the rest of the way, Kakashi feels Naruto shift a little.

"Nn...Kakashi...sensei...?" He mumbles against his teacher's shoulder.

"Naruto," The Jounin immediately jumps to the ground and lets Naruto off his back. "How are you feeling?" He asks him.

"Okay, I guess..." He responds, dully. There was a hint of confusion in the boy's eyes, which still looked foggy from when he was unconscious. Suddenly he flinches, making a small sound of pain before touching his stomach.

"Oh...my..." Sakura stares, wide-eyed, at his wound. "What happened?!" She breathes in horror.

Sasuke folds his arms, averting his gaze from Naruto's pale face. "He got stabbed." He tells her, coldly.

"Oh, Naruto."

"Can you walk?" Kakashi asks.

"I don't..." Naruto hesitates, trying to push himself to his feet but failing miserably as his hand slides out from under him. Causing him to nearly topple over.

Kakashi-sensei leans down and scoops the wheezing blonde into his arms. "I'm gonna take him to the hosptial. Sasuke, Sakura." He says turning toward the other two genin. "I need you to take these three to Lord Hokage."

"Yes sir!"

_**-xXx-**_

__"Sensei..." Naruto says, slowly.

"Yes?" Kakashi was still carrying him in the direction of Konoha hospital.

"What...what happened back there? I kinda remember waking up at one point. But I don't...remember what happened when I did." The young boy looked troubled, his brow creased as he tries to recall his actions by the river.

"Naruto," Kakashi frowns under his mask. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to say to that. Should he just tell Naruto he'd been overcome by the Nine Tailed Fox? He didn't want to scare Naruto. He'd been through enough trauma in one day. But, on the other hand, didn't he need to know to be more careful? "When you woke up earlier, something caused you to attack one of the rogue ninja that Sasuke was carrying."

Naruto jolts back to reality, his voice was almost too loud when he says. "W-what?!"

"Do you have any idea what that could have been?"

His face darkens. _Kakashi-sensei knows about the kyuubi...right? I mean, didn't Iruka-sensei say that everybody who was an adult back then knows? That counts for sensei too...I think. _He decides to risk it. "The Fox...?" He asks, his voice breaking a little.

The masked man nods. "You need to be more careful." He says. "Getting injured like that is more dangerous for you than most people. It can cause you to lose control, like today. We're just lucky no one got killed."

Naruto flinches at the last word. "I'd never...kill anybody."

"You're a shinobi." Kakashi says. "Killing is part of the job. That part is unavoidable. However, staying in control of yourself is too. If you don't...well."

Naruto swallows.

"You could end up hurting someone you care about."

_**-xXx-**_

__Sakura hurries ahead of Sasuke so she can get the door for him. The two genin, plus their captives, trudge up the stairs to the Hokage's office. Once they reach the top of the stairs, Sakura once again hurries to knock on the door so Sasuke won't have to wait a long time, while carrying two of the rogues on his back.

"Enter." The Third Hokage calls from inside.

The rosette pulls open the door, ushering Sasuke and the rogue woman in before her and closing the door behind them.

"Hm?" Hiruzen Sarutobi glances up from a scroll on his desk. "Welcome back you two, I hear you had some trouble with Naruto?"

Sasuke nods. "Yes, but we've retrieved him."

"And how is he?"

"He's being taken to the hospital for some non-life threatening injuries." Or at least, he hoped that was the case.

"I see." Now the Third straightens up and looks at the woman. "And who are you?"

She takes a small breath, shifting nervously. _So this was Lord Orochimaru's old sensei. He must be very powerful._ "My name is Haru Junko." She tells him.

"She's a rogue ninja we found in the forest outside the village." Sasuke explains.

"Oh? Well, you know the laws. If she is rogue, she is to be imprisoned..."

Haru winces at the word 'prison'. She'd always feared those places. But...she glances back at Eiji and finds herself smiling, sadly. She'd stay there her entire life if it meant keeping him away from Orochimaru from now on.

"And who are they?" The Third asks, motioning to the other two.

"That is my brother, Eiji, and our teammate, Dai."

"And all of you are rogue?"

"Uhh..." She hesitates. It would be so easy to lie and take all the blame on herself. But she knew that, if Eiji and Dai were set free, they would run back to Orochimaru. And she couldn't let that happen. "Yes." She could only hope they took pity on children in prison.

_**-xXx-**_

__The melodic hum of chakra fills the stark, white hospital room. An emerald green glow flows from the doctor's hand as he moves it over Naruto's stomach. The wound, which was already mostly healed, finally closed up entirely.

"There you go, Naruto. That should do it."

Naruto sits up, carefully testing himself. He grins when no pain accompanies the movement. "Haha! Thanks, Doc!" He cheers, brightly. "Do you think I can go back to training tomorrow?"

The doctor smiles, humorfully. "Yes, I think so. As long as you take it easy. No straineous stuff."

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto jumps of the table and yanks his jacket back on. "Thanks again!" And he races out, nearly colliding with Kakashi as he bolts out into the hallway.

"So? What's the verdict?" Kakashi asks him, a little smile is evident under his mask.

"I'll live." Naruto chukcles. "But more importantly! I can come to practice tomorrow!"

The Jounin nods, approvingly. "Good. And no more ditching?"

Naruto laughs, awkwardly. "Uh, yeah...sorry about that." He frowns, letting his hand move to his stomach. "I was just...feeling sorry for myself I guess. It won't happen again."

"Glad to hear it." Kakashi says. But just as Naruto is beginning to walk away, he stops him one more time. "But, just between you and me, Sasuke was out of his mind with worry the whole time. I think your little stunt worked...just for the record."

A huge grin spreads over the blonde's face. "HA! Take _that_ Teme!" And then he's sprinting away down the hall, laughing loudly. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!"

_**-xXx-**_

__Naruto reaches into his pocket, fumbling for his key before remembering he'd left his apartment open. For the sake of the prank. Strolling inside, he finds the room pitch black. A knot twists in his chest as a frown immediately melts over his features. "I'm home..." He mumbles to himself.

"Naruto?" Suddenly, a light snaps on in his living room. A pink head poking around the corner, quickly joined by a dark haired one. "There you are! We've been looking all over for you!"

"Huh...?"

Sakura smiles, happily. The girl quickly trots down the hallway toward him. "So how are you feeling? What did the doctor say?" Sasuke, wearing a small, embarrased blush, slinks down the hall to join them.

"Uh," Naruto suddenly felt very light headed. But not from his injuries. Why were they here? And...why did they seem so happy to see him? "I'll be okay." He tells them. "And I've got the green light to go to practice tomorrow."

Sakura smiles and nods. "Good! Because we didn't make out too good without you last time! And another-"

"Guys?" Naruto interrupts her, shifting uncomfortably. "No offense but...why're you here?"

"Huh?" Sakura actually looked...hurt. "What do you mean? We came to check up on you." She suddenly turns very serious. "You _have_ been missing for days, you know!"

He laughs, awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah..."

"Hey, Dobe." Sasuke grumbles. All evidence of his blush is gone and his expression is suddenly deadly serious and stoic. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I won't hesitate to kill you myself!"

Sakura gasps. "Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura was shocked, sure. But Naruto understood the meaning in those words. He grins. Challenge accepted.

"Yeah, yeah! Keep talkin' big, you teme! See where it gets you!"

"Pff! You're the one who ran off to throw yourself a pity party!"

"A what?! Actually, _jerk_, I'll have you know-"

"Come on, you two! Knock it off!" Sakura groans.

But Naruto and Sasuke just keep on arguing. Back and forth, back and forth. But not because they're angry with each other. It was their way of making up. It always has been. It always will be.

_Sasuke..._

_ Naruto..._

_ Thank you. For being there for me._

_**A/N: And there you have it folks! :D That's the end of The Boy Who Cried Sasuke! HOWEVER! I've been thinking...there was a certain piece of this story (AKA the whole, Sasuke seeing Naruto overcome by the kyuubi) that I don't feel like I was able to completely cover. So...sequel? What do you guys think? ALSO! What do think about the secodary characters? (Haru, Eiji and Dai?) Did you like that I made them less super villian and more human? (I'm not sure if I liked it myself beause it made it harder to get rid of them.) So, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :D**_


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